


105. 'Out' and about in L.A.

by alley_oops, jennandanica



Series: Citadel: Luke Evans and Alex Skarsgard [105]
Category: Actor RPF, Citadel (Journalfen RPG), True Blood RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-02
Updated: 2008-11-02
Packaged: 2018-01-01 14:57:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1045262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alley_oops/pseuds/alley_oops, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennandanica/pseuds/jennandanica





	105. 'Out' and about in L.A.

_**Luke Evans and Alex[](http://www.journalfen.net/users/skarsgard/profile)**_[ **skarsgard**](http://www.journalfen.net/users/skarsgard/): 'out' and about in L.A.  
 **players only. backdated to early January. takes place after[Alex reveals all on late-night TV](http://www.journalfen.net/users/skarsgard/25611.html) and the boys ring in the new year ([part one](http://www.journalfen.net/users/skarsgard/27544.html) and [part two](http://www.journalfen.net/users/citadel_luke/12075.html).**

"Any idea what you want for lunch?" Luke says, nudging in close to Alex as he picks up a table runner made of Indian silk. It's a dark brown with beautiful orange and yellow flowers and green leaves on it. He doesn't think it would look good on their dining table, which deserves to stand alone, but there's a long table against the back of one couch that needs a little something.

Alex frowns thoughtfully. "Japanese?" he suggests. "I want something crazy deep-fried." He's only got a small window of culinary freedom before he has to start stripping down for season six of _True Blood_ , which means lean chicken and sautéed vegetables. Not to mention the gym, which bores the hell out of him.

"Mm. That sounds good," Luke murmurs, nodding, his stomach growling just a little. "What do you think of this?" he asks, showing Alex the table runner. "For the house. I was thinking we could put it on the sofa table behind the taupe couch. Where we have that huge white vase?"

"We have a vase?" Alex gives the embroidered cloth a second glance, paying attention this time. "Oh, right," he recalls. "With the purple... whatever-they-are. Yeah." He looks around quickly, then tugs at his lover's well-fitted bright red shirt. The loud color is stunning on Luke, of course, perfectly setting off his dark-haired good looks; but then, Luke could work a pile of shabby rags as if it were haute couture. "Do we have enough color yet? I don't want to take away from the view, but I don't want too much, you know, neutral stuff either."

"Probably not," Luke says with a smile at the tug. "There's a blue one," he points out, picking up a different silk runner, this one the colour of the ocean.

"Oh, I love that one," Alex says, his eyes lighting up at the gorgeous depths of color found in the blue silk. He reaches out and trails his fingers lightly over the fine material. "We should definitely get that." He meets Luke's eyes with a big grin. Being out in public with his lover like this, without worrying about who might see them or what might be said... It's fucking liberating. Because they're not just out; now they're finally both _out_. Alex has never been big on PDA, and he's still pissed off on principle about getting pap-snapped in Carmel. But he doesn't care who fucking sees him enjoying the day with Luke at his side.

Luke stares into Alex's eyes for a long moment until he realizes he's doing just that. Fuck. He can't help it. He wants to kiss Alex. "Um. I was wondering if we should get new sheets too," he says, glancing down at the runner as he folds it to take with them. "The ones we took up to the house are getting kind of nubby."

"Okay. Do you want to actually buy those and drive them up, or just order them and have them shipped?" It's true, their bedclothes get a lot of hard use, and consequently are machine-washed and dried likely more than the manufacturer would recommend; plus, Alex likes his bed decadently comfortable. It's important. "I guess if we buy them ourselves then we can touch them first, make sure we like the feel of the fabric."

Luke nods. "Just because they say they're 600-count doesn't mean they feel the same," he says, walking towards the back of the store. "What colour do you want?"

"Red," Alex decides, unable to resist reaching out and hooking his fingers into the back of Luke's black Diesel jeans, curving just beneath the waistband. "Blood red," he murmurs against his lover's throat, then lets him go again.

Luke whimpers, his knees going weak in an instant, his cock already responding, pressing itself against the zipper of his jeans. Fuck. "I'm like Pavlov's dog around you," he says, shaking his head as he starts sorting through a huge bin of packaged bed sets.

Alex snorts a laugh, but tries to muffle it with his hand. "You're better company than a dog," he assures his lover, circling the bin to finger a bright fabric sample but then discarding it as too far towards the cherry end of the spectrum. He shoots Luke a grin. "Much better."

"I would certainly hope so," Luke says, holding up a package of dark red sheets. 600 count and made of Egyptian cotton. "Blood red enough?"

"I like them." Alex smirks in approval of the color. "Are they luxurious enough?"

Luke unzips the package and runs his fingers over the top of the sheets. "They're really soft. What do you think?" he asks, holding them out to Alex. "They feel like they'd hold up better than the other ones."

Alex briefly touches the sheets, then shrugs. "There's got to be a place we can try them out," he says, craning to look past Luke's shoulder. "Oh yeah! They've got one of those, you know, display beds over there. Let's go!"

Luke swats him on the arm. "You're evil," he informs Alex, shaking his head. "And now I know better than to take you anywhere near the mattress store."

"God, there are just so many places I'm not allowed to go anymore," Alex grumbles, affecting a pout. "The mattress store, the whipped cream store, the trampoline store..." He sorts through the bin and finds two more sets of sheets similar to the ones Luke found, one in black and one in a deep midnight blue.

Laughing, Luke leans in and takes the sheets from Alex, checking to make sure they're the same count and just as soft as the first ones. "You're the one who told me no kissing or holding hands in public and if we can't do either of those..."

"Well, yeah, but..." Alex looks at his lover quizzically. "What, no rimming either?"

"You'd better watch out," Luke says, shifting closer, a definite twinkle in his eye. "I might take you up on that."

"Yeah?" Alex is a fool. But, at least he _knows_ he's a fool. He and Luke don't get to have unscheduled moments together all that often, and he loves just being able to relax and flirt with his boy. "Whose ass are we talking about? Whose tongue?"

"Well, there's only mine in yours or yours in mine unless you're way more flexible than you've let on," Luke teases, unable to resist.

Alex laughs out loud, and has to stuff his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans just to keep from grabbing for Luke. The sound of his laughter draws interested eyes, unfortunately, and he takes a step back, gathering up the table runner and a couple of the bedsheet sets. "Anything else we need here, do you think?" he asks quietly. "Or is it lunch time?"

"Let's put these in the car and go have lunch," Luke says, nudging his shoulder against Alex's as they head for the cash.

Mission accomplished, they send Siri on a search for a nearby Japanese place with good ratings, and not only successfully navigate there but actually manage to find decent parking. Once they're comfortably settled at a wall table near the back, Alex feels safe enough to reach beneath the table and take his lover's hand, stroking his thumb over Luke's knuckles.

Luke beams at Alex. "I know I told you it didn't matter if you ever came out," he says quietly, even though there's no one seated near them. "But this is amazing. I love not having to worry about how I look at you for fear of giving us away. Or having to worry about your PR team freaking out on you."

"Oh, they're freaking out pretty constantly these days, you can be sure of that," Alex tells him with a wry smile. "But do we care?" He shakes his head. Which is the point that Luke is making, he knows. "At least they don't have to worry about getting surprised with any 'baby mama' stories with my name on them, you know? That's a scandalous tip I've managed to avoid over the years. Although..." Alex puts his menu down and gives Luke a very suspicious glare.

"Uh uh. No way. Not me," Luke says, shaking his head and laughing. "There's only two possibilities and since they're both back in Aberbargoed, I'd know."

"Well, that's a relief." Alex grins and scans his menu again. God, he loves Luke's laugh. Loves his smile. Beneath the table, his grip on his lover's hand tightens.

"Of course if we ever do decide we want kids..." Luke teases, having already decided on his order.

"What?" Alex asks, looking up to meet his lover's eyes. "Are you telling me you know a few good women?"

Luke laughs. "No, but we might want to use a surrogate instead of adopting, so there might still be a baby mama story in our future," he says, unable to resist continuing in the same casual tone. "Although you'd have to do the actual deed unless we went totally medical."

Surprised now, Alex stares at his lover. "Would... Wait, what? Would you even be comfortable with that?" Hell, he's not even sure that _he'd_ be comfortable with it. Sex, sure. But procreation?

Luke breaks into a grin. "I don't know," he says, shaking his head. "I have no idea. I guess it would depend on who it was. To be honest, the whole surrogacy thing kind of scares me. I mean, I don't know how you get to be 100% sure they aren't going to change their mind or put a claim in later on the child."

"Umm, I don't know. I guess it depends on where you do it. I don't think the laws in Sweden are as clear as the U.S. laws." Odd, to think of it. "I'd say we could ask my sister, but she kind of yelled from the rooftops after Greger that she was absolutely fucking never going through that again." Alex snorts and lays his menu aside as a waitress approaches. He quickly places his order and then sits back so that his lover has a chance to do the same.

Luke orders, handing his menu over, then takes a sip of his drink. "It all just makes my head spin," he admits, meaning the logistics. "And you know, it might sound selfish, but I've only just found you. I can't imagine wanting to share you, even with a child, for a few years yet."

"It doesn't sound selfish. Not with our schedules, anyway," Alex adds. "I mean, I miss you like crazy half the time already," he murmurs. Getting to be with Luke when neither of them is working -- it happens way too rarely.

Luke smiles. "So you're not worried about getting too old to be a dad? Ryan said he was."

"He's worried about getting too old to be a dad? Shit." Alex frowns into his tea. "I think we have enough to worry about already. And anyway, if any of us is going to live an unnaturally long time and still be physically capable of chasing small people around the house, it'll be Ryan."

"True," Luke says with a laugh. "I don't think he was worried yet though. He said the first time he and Sam talked about kids and family, Sam was talking about ten years down the road and that's why they ended up with that whole five-year-plan thing."

"Wait, so Sam gave him ten and Ryan talked him down to five?" Alex asks, and can't help but snicker. "I'm impressed. Sam really met his match there. It's a good thing he was smart enough to figure it out instead of panicking and just running like hell in the opposite direction." Although he seems to recall Sam mentioning there may have been a bit of just that, in the beginning. Grinning, he lays his arm on the table, as if just casually resting against the wall. In the shuffle of ordering lunch and giving back their menus, he lost Luke's hand. Now he uncurls his fingers, subtly inviting his lover to touch.

Smiling, Luke draws his fingers over Alex's, slowly, from palm to tips, before resting his hand in his lover's. "I think maybe I was the only one who didn't consider running," he says.

"Yeah, but that's just because you're smarter than the rest of us," Alex murmurs. He tries to quell a shiver, his nerves still reeling from the unexpectedly sensual touch. Stroking his fingers over the inside of Luke's wrist, he gives his lover a slow smile.

"Not smarter. I was just more certain about what I wanted and I knew it when I found you," Luke says, eyes flickering from Alex's face to the fingers on his wrist. He shifts in his seat.

"Thank god one of us was sure," Alex says with a quiet chuckle. "You scared the hell out of me." He's fairly certain Luke already knows that, though.

"I was just scared you might decide to run," Luke admits. "In the early days," he clarifies. He's long since moved past that, thank god.

"I nearly did, a couple times." Alex links his fingers with Luke's atop the cream linen tablecloth. "What's that old saying? Something about how heaven protects drunks, fools, and madmen? I never really thought about what it meant, before." He laughs again.

Luke laughs too. "We should set a date."

"Think so?" Alex watches his lover for a long moment, a smile still curving the corners of his mouth. "Do you even know when you might have five days off in a row this year?" Because hell if he's going to put up with sleeping with his lover on Friday, marrying him on Saturday, and then bidding him goodbye again on Sunday... Well, all right. If that's all Alex can get, then he'll probably take it. But he _wants_ more.

"No, but if we set a date then I'll make sure I do," Luke says. "You're done in April, I'm damned if I know yet when I go back to New Zealand, but they can work around me. I think we should go ahead and plan for May or June."

"All right." It's a huge thing. Probably one of the biggest decisions Alex has ever made in his life. And with Luke, it's easy as can be. "May. One day for people to arrive and settle in," he says, tapping his index finger on the table. "The next day for a rehearsal and a gigantic bachelor party and whatever." Another finger. "The next day for the wedding." His grin widens, and he lays down another finger. "And then the _next_ day for everyone to sleep off the wedding night, which will be an absolutely astounding club party under the stars lasting into the wee hours of the dawn."

Luke's so happy he could burst. "Let's add one more day at the end for people to just enjoy the resort - if we're doing it on the coast like we said."

"Absolutely. And aren't we supposed to have a honeymoon in there somewhere?" Alex chuckles. "Or do you think we'll need to save that for later in the year?"

"We can send everyone home after that and take a few days for ourselves," Luke says, "but I don't know - I think I'd like to have a real honeymoon later on if we can manage."

"I'd love to spend some time at one of the tropical Citadel resorts," Alex murmurs. "Even if we're too tired to scene, it'd be amazing to just lie naked on the beach if we wanted to. Not have to do _anything_ for a few days." He smirks a little, and adds, "Except worship each other."

Luke smiles. "I think that sounds wonderful." But then he sighs softly. "Do you think we dare take it right away or should we wait and go later in the year?"

"Later, probably. Which'll be cool, kind of, if you think about it. I mean, we'll have the wedding, and all that build-up and blow-out, and then we'll be totally fried and go back to work," Alex says, looking up as a waiter comes to their table laden with dishes. He nods his thanks to the man and continues, "And then, we'll have another big thing to look forward to, and a chance to get some energy back first."

"That's true," Luke says, feeling much better. "You know, we're really good at that."

Alex pokes at his tempura shrimp, then dips his chopsticks into the bowl of thick red sauce to check the flavour before committing to it. And he puzzles over Luke's remark, finally asking, "...What?"

"We're never negative or down about something at the same time," Luke says. "One of us always sees the brighter side."

Pursing his lips, Alex considers. "I guess," he agrees, because he's never really thought about it before. "I think we've balanced each other pretty well since the beginning. You look at things in a totally different way than I do, which is really awesome. Because half the time I don't even get that the rest of the world doesn't think the same as me." Actually it's more like Alex expects the rest of the world to think exactly the same way he does, since _obviously_ his logic makes the most sense.

"Are you saying I have the pedestrian viewpoint of things?" Luke teases.

"I was thinking reasonable, but you can call it what you want," Alex says with a grin, and kicks Luke gently beneath the table.

Luke giggles, shifting his legs out of the way. "I just like the way we complement each other," he says with a smile. "It's nice."

"It's perfect," Alex counters, stunned as always by what a quiet thrill it can be to have the opportunity to simply _watch_ Luke. "Because you're perfect for me."

Luke beams at Alex. "Are you going to get sick of me telling you I love you?"

"Not ever," Alex assures him. Sick of not feeling comfortable with kissing his lover in public, however... Alex has definitely already reached that point. "If we do ever have a child, by whatever method, how do you think your parents will feel about that?"

"Scandalized," Luke says immediately then laughs. "God. I don't know. I'd like to hope their desire for a grandchild would override everything else, but I'm not sure it would. But any child we had would have your parents and lots of kids don't have all their grandparents around, especially with people having kids when they're older now."

"Yeah, there won't be any shortage of adoring relatives, that's for sure. I think the bigger danger is that the kid will get spoiled as all hell and we'll have no control over the situation," Alex chuckles. Privately, he thinks there's no way Luke's parents could resist warming up to their only grandchild. He hopes.

"I think we could manage to keep them grounded," Luke says, absolutely thrilled they're talking about this even if he's still not 100% certain he wants kids. "Maybe," he amends, thinking of his own time with his nana and gransha. "I'd like to think so."

"I think your grandfather would love to have a mini-Luke to go walking with him, regardless of what your parents think." Alex smiles at the thought and drizzles the wasabi sauce over his shrimp. "Of course, then we have to figure out what to do with our last names. Do we hyphenate? Do we make up some wild Welsh-Swedish combination? Evansgard. Skarsans."

Luke laughs, setting his fork down. "They could have Evans as a middle name," he says. "And use your name as their last. I'd be okay with that."

"I don't know, Evansgard sounds kind of badass to me," Alex muses, grinning. "It sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings." He takes a bite of shrimp, and realizes he miscalculated with the wasabi. Badly. The second he manages to swallow, he grabs for his drink and downs the whole thing, trying to cool the sudden explosion. Then he snatches Luke's glass.

"Are you okay?" Luke says, eyes wide and concerned, waving their server over for more water.

It takes a long moment, but eventually Alex inhales with a gasp and nods. He wipes his mouth with his napkin. And then he snickers helplessly, his eyes watering.

Luke laughs too. "Poor you," he says, reaching out to touch Alex's hand again. "Should I confiscate your wasabi?"

"...For my own protection?" Alex picks up his fresh glass of water and drinks half of it. He pushes his dinner plate towards Luke, given that he ruined it all anyway. "Yeah."

"Have some of mine," Luke says, exchanging their plates.

"Thanks," Alex says, covering his mouth when he coughs again. Then he helps himself to a large bite of sticky rice. "Have you ever been figged?" Free association can be such a dangerous thing...

Luke shakes his head. "No." Trying hard not to squirm at the thought.

"Don't you want the rest of your swordfish?" Alex asks, eyeing the bits of sushi still on Luke's plate. "And, want to? You don't have one of those food things, right?" he teases, like he's never before mixed dinner with his entirely edible boy.

"No, I'm good," Luke says, nodding towards his food. "And I think I do." He loves pain but he's always a little worried beforehand - whether it'll be too much, whether it'll be a kind he doesn't like.

"Awesome. We should find a farmer's market, or something," Alex says with a grin, snagging the last piece of swordfish with his chopsticks. "You can plan dinner, I can plan dessert..."

"There's the one by that big home store - the one with the hand-made sausage and all the organic vegetables," Luke suggests, wondering if he's going to be spending the afternoon walking around with a hard-on.

"Cool, we can hit that next if you want," Alex says, and signals for their check. "Organic ginger, there's a thought." He pins his boy with a smirking look. "We certainly want to limit your pesticide intake."

Luke blushes, glancing away when his jeans just tighten all the more.

If possible, Alex's smirk actually widens, and he watches his boy with pleasure. God, Luke is enchanting, every response so open and honest. "I'll just assume you agree," he murmurs, handing the waiter a credit card. "Good call."

Aware of the waiter watching them, Luke struggles to find something to say when his brain's just churning out non-stop porn. "Um. Would you be okay with steaks and some grilled asparagus for dinner?" he asks, uncertain he'll be able to summon the ability to make anything more complicated.

Alex raises an eyebrow and drums his fingers lightly on the table. "I don't know. What are you putting in the marinade?" Like he cares. Luke could probably serve him braised cardboard and get away with it; Alex is just pushing him. Same as always.

Fuck. "Soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, some spices," Luke gets out, grateful when the waiter hands Alex's card back and wishes them a good afternoon.

"What, no ginger?" Alex asks quietly, nodding his thanks to the waiter and getting to his feet. He puts his hands in his pockets, trying to look casual. He just wants to grab his lover and start rubbing against him.

"Not after it's been in my ass," Luke murmurs, unable to help himself, although another hot blush follows.

Alex laughs out loud and leads the way back out into the sunshine, slipping his shades on. He should probably be less obvious, damn it. He just... forgets himself, when he's with Luke. It's one of the things he loves most about his boy, how Luke has the power to transform him.

"After we get married, you're going to have to let me hold your hand when we're out," Luke says, smiling up at Alex as they walk back to the car.

"Is that right?" Alex's smile goes a bit crooked. "Are you really sure you want that? I mean, in fucking Los Angeles?" he asks, gesturing with a sweeping hand towards the crowded street. "All those fuckin' photographers who actually _don't_ have a real job to go to, just following us around, waiting for that moment when I lean in to tell you I love you and that's when they all set off their flashes in our faces and shout questions..." Yeah. Alex is a _little_ bitter.

Luke shrugs. "If we do it all the time, it'll become old news," he says. "They'll get bored and no one will be willing to pay them."

"Think so?" Alex definitely hadn't looked at it from that perspective. If that's true... He stops on the sidewalk, moving out of the flow of foot traffic and tugging at Luke's waistband to bring him in close. Then he lifts his boy's hand to his lips, lingering over the caress and studying Luke's gorgeous eyes.

Luke nods. "Yes, I do," he says, stunned that Alex is already doing it. Actually touching him in public, out here on the street, where anyone could take a picture. "I think they'll still take pictures - I just don't think they'll take as many or make as a big deal out of it."

Alex brushes his lips over the cool metal of Luke's ring, then releases his lover. "Maybe they'll start saving the big deal stuff for when I throw you against a brick wall and hump you blind, things like that." He grins.

Luke laughs, although god, yes please. "Or when I slip under the dinner table and suck you off?" he retorts, eyes sparkling.

"Yeah, they might be busting out the wide lens for that," Alex says. "Maybe someday we'll get invited to some big fancy government dinner, like an inauguration or a press ball or something. That would be a perfect place to try something like that." A perfect place to get hustled away by the Secret Service, anyway... "Which way is the Farmer's Market, you said?"

"Over by that new home store. The one with the cafe on the third floor." Luke can't remember the name of it.

They make their way back to Alex's SUV and Alex snatches a piece of paper from beneath one of the windshield wipers. "Motherfucker," he growls, climbing behind the steering wheel. "$35 fine because the parking meter ran out of quarters. I fucking hate driving in L.A."

"You should let me drive," Luke says, biting back a smile. "I don't mind it and you could just relax."

"It's not even the driving so much as... as the goddamn parking," Alex grumbles, exasperated. "But no, you take shotgun because I need you to navigate."

"Okay. You should give me the ticket though," Luke insists. "I'll make sure it gets paid."

"Yeah, yeah," Alex grumbles. He's already crumpled the ticket into a ball, and he tosses it at Luke before pulling out of the disputed parking spot. It's not a long drive to the market, and his lover soothes his mood before it's even time to find a new place to park. "Here, I've got some reusable bags," he says, killing the engine and then reaching into the backseat for a couple brightly-printed canvas sacks.

Luke takes the bags from Alex and hops out of the SUV. "You pick the ginger," he tells him. "I'll get the steaks and the asparagus. Do you want potatoes too?"

"Fuck, yes. Potatoes," Alex answers, already craning his neck to try and determine which of the stalls he should search first. He strides off without a backward glance.

Luke heads for the butcher's and orders two New York strip steaks, both about an inch and a half thick with wonderful marbling. There's a great little produce stand right across from it and he does a quick check on his lover, spying his head well above everyone else's, before crossing over.

Alex meanwhile has found an entire table displaying various ground spices in jars, as well as a few whole horseradish roots and a couple large hands of ginger. The problem is that every time he tries to ask for the ginger, the hefty but ancient-looking woman behind the counter snaps at him and points at something else. He's not even sure what language she's spitting at him so rapid-fire, but he gets the feeling she's scolding him roundly. Not that he knows why. Exasperated, he finally steps back.

Luke chooses a bunch of asparagus, the tips dark green and closed tight, and two unblemished baking potatoes, their smell clean and earthy. He hands them over to the man behind the counter, pays and puts them in his bag, shifting both bags to his right hand while he shields his eyes from the sun with his left, checking on Alex again. "Did you get it?" he asks, coming up behind his lover.

"No, I got told off by the Spice Police. Apparently I'm not worthy," Alex mutters. He takes the grocery sacks from Luke and nods towards the stall. "You try it."

A little nervous, Luke walks over to the stand and picks up the first hand of ginger he sees. He has no clue whether it's what Alex wants but he hands it over to the woman, blinking hard when she assails him with a stream of what he thinks might be Greek or Romani or something along those lines. God only knows. But she hands the ginger back to him in a small brown paper bag and motions for payment. He gives her a couple of dollars, making sure she doesn't start in on him again, then flees back to Alex with his bag. "Mission accomplished."

Alex shoots a suspicious glare over his shoulder at the elderly woman, then slips the paper bag in with the other groceries they bought. "Thank god for your charm and its international appeal," he says, happy to move back into the crowd. "Do you want any more wine, or anything? Beer? We've got some good stuff at home, but if you want something different...?"

"No, I'm good," Luke says with a smile, staring at Alex.

Catching that look, Alex refocuses his attention, right where it should be. And he grins. "Then let's get out of here."  



End file.
